Modern automobile air filtration systems commonly include an air intake housing, an air filter housed in the intake housing, and an intake hose coupled to the air filter configured to deliver air to the intake manifold of the engine. For instance, cold air intake systems are configured to improve the performance of the engine by delivering colder, and therefore relatively more dense, air to the intake manifold of the engine. In a conventional cold air intake system, the air filter and the intake hose are coupled to the engine of the vehicle and the air intake housing is typically coupled to a portion of the body of the vehicle located away from the engine (e.g., in a fender well), which separates or isolates the air filter from the warmer air surrounding the engine and allows the air filter to draw in cooler air.
During operation of the vehicle, the air filter may tend to move relative to the air intake housing because the air filter, the intake hose, and the air intake housing are coupled to different portions of the automobile and are therefore subject to different mechanical loads. For instance, engine vibrations may cause the air filter and the intake hose to move relative to the air intake housing. The movement of the air filter and the intake hose relative to the air intake housing may generate mechanical loading (e.g., stress and strain) on the air filter and/or the intake hose, which may tend to prematurely wear the air filter and the intake hose.
Accordingly, conventional air filtration systems may include one or more mechanisms for permitting the air filter to move relative to the air intake housing to minimize the generation of mechanical loading on the air filter, the air intake housing, and the intake hose due to the movement of the air filter and the intake hose relative to the air intake housing. In conventional automobile air filtrations systems, compliance may be achieved by bellows in the intake hose or with a hump in the intake hose. However, such conventional mechanisms in the intake hose for achieving compliance tend to restrict airflow through the air filtration system, which may limit engine performance. Alternatively, conventional automobile air filtration systems may be designed without compliance between the air filter and the air intake housing.